Monday, September 13, 2004

Troy

Saw two movies this weekend. Troy and Around the world in eighty days. When is a movie "an adaptation" from the book? And when does it go from being "loosely based on" to "inspired by"? 80 days I'd call it loosely based. The characterization was all very different , route is different, motives are different... but yet was surprisingly most enjoyable. Chan as Passpertout with a french father who didnt talk and a chinese mother who didnt stop talking was as usual fantastic. Philease Fogg grew on me and became likeable by the end of the movie. And then all kinds of cameos - the wright brothers, queen victoria, van gogh... Nicely done.

Then there was Troy. I am not sure if it will even qualify as an inspired by. Forgetting the different fates the movie bestows upon its characters and the very different events, I still thought it was mediocre. Achilles, between charging into battlefield and sleeping around was spouting strong and somewhat suspiciously modern views about Gods at the drop of a hat, but his motives arent clear at all. The premise for his general malcontent is not at all set. Doleful Eric Bana as Hector also seemed to have more modern views. Ofcourse I cannot claim for sure ancient Greeks and Trojans didnt have enlightened views about war and peace, but somehow I found the movie very pretentious. Apparently many thought Helen of Troy was a let-down. I was waiting more for Sean Bean, the dashing 006 of Golden eye as Odyssues. Somehow the screenplay screwed him up. On the whole, Troy seem well set to win six or seven oscars.